


Nights Like This

by notnowcommander



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-29
Updated: 2015-04-29
Packaged: 2018-03-26 07:20:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,749
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3842053
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/notnowcommander/pseuds/notnowcommander
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A Shenko first date fic.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Nights Like This

Kaidan stood outside Shepard’s door or longer than he cared to admit. He didn’t know how to knock and see what she was up to or if she wanted to talk to him. It was the middle of the day, and more times than not, he didn’t end up in her room until late at night. But of course, that was sex, and cuddling and a slow bond forming between them. It wasn’t entirely what he wanted out of her. He wanted more, and wanted to know that she felt something for him too.

He took in a deep breath and knocked on her door. Seconds later, he heard her chime “come in!” and popped the door open. He stepped inside and glanced around. Her room looked different when the lights were completely on. He could see some of the clothing strewn about the floor, and several data pads resting on each surface. It was a perfect cabin for Shepard. Perfect for her. Just equal parts messy, but he knew she knew exactly where every single thing was.

“What’s up?” she asked. Shepard was sitting at her desk, knees pulled up on the chair with a cup of coffee in her hand. She was wearing a pair of leggings with an oversized N7 sweatshirt falling off her shoulders. Her red hair was pulled into a messy bun and had absolutely no makeup on. Kaidan liked her like this, completely natural, completely Shepard.

He stepped closer, straightening up. “We’re uh… docked on the Citadel, Commander.”

She nodded. “Yep, Joker said we’d docked.”

Kaidan toyed with his fingers, trying to not crack his knuckles and make the moment awkward. “I, uh… I was wondering if you had any plans for this evening.”

Shepard stood up and placed her cup of coffee on her desk, moving over to him. He stiffened up and swallowed, and he felt even more nervous when she wrapped her arms around his neck. “Why do you ask?”

“I just, I don’t know um…”

 _Just say it, you idiot,_ he thought.

“I uh… I know that what we have going on is kind of new and weird, but uh… I think I would really like to do something with you. And… and I know maybe you’re fine with what we are now, but it’s not how I normally go about relationships. I - ugh - I want to show you that I care. I really do.”

He was cut off when Shepard pressed her lips against his. She stood on her toes and used her grip on his shoulders to hoist herself up against him. He kissed her back, wrapping his arms around her tiny waist, and letting her press herself hard against him. Slowly, she inched away.

“You’re such a sweetheart. Now, go ahead.”

“Commander, um… Shepard, I mean. Would you like to go on a date with me?”

She brushed her thumb against his cheekbone and smiled. “There, wasn’t so hard, was it?”

“Is that a yes?”

She nodded. “I’d like that.”

***

Kaidan stood in front of the mirror in the crew quarters, combing his hair back into place for the hundredth time. His hands were shaking and he kind of felt like he was going to throw up. He knew it was stupid, because this was Shepard, the woman who chose to share her cabin with him almost every night and slept holding him tightly. She wouldn’t do that if she didn’t care for him too, would she?

He had very little casual clothing with him on the Normandy, just a pair of dark pants and a dark blue button down, with the sleeves rolled halfway up his forearms. He knew that Shepard would hassle him for buttoning it all the way up, so he left a few buttons at the top open. He sighed and left the quarters to retrieve Shepard from her own.

He knocked on her door and took in a deep breath, only to have it leave him again once she opened the door. She was wearing a dress, a short, black and white polka dot dress that flared out at the end. Her hair was combed and styled neatly in place, her makeup kept light and natural.

“Wow, um. You look beautiful,” he said, choking on his words.

“It’s nice to see you out of uniform, Lieutenant. It’s very handsome.”

She leaned forward and pressed her lips to his cheek, She wiped away the remnants of her lip gloss that was left on his face, and smiled.

“Well, shall we be going, Commander?”

He held out a hand for her, and she took it, pulling herself close to him and following him off the ship. He liked how closely she followed him, how she waited eagerly to find out where they were going to grab dinner, where they’d get drinks later. She wrapped her arms around him and slid themselves into a SkyCar down to the lower wards, As the car took off, Shepard inched closer to him, resting her head against his shoulder. He slid a hand to her leg softly, below the hem of her dress.

“So, where are we going to dinner?” she asked, leaning herself into him more. She smelled incredible, like a soft mix of of vanilla and fresh linen. But to Kaidan, the first thing that came to mind was home. How being in her arms made him feel safe, and when she curled up against his body and stroked her hands up and down the hairs leading down his stomach and across his chest, how she’d mumble things in her sleep and when her nightmares were bad, how she’d grab out for him, and know he’d always be there. It was a lot to learn from someone, only being with them a couple of weeks.

“It’s a surprise.”

“Come on, tell me.”

He leaned back on the seat of the car. “You’ve probably never heard of it.”

“It’s steak, isn’t it?”

He rolled his eyes. “Not just steak, Shepard. You have a very narrow view of my dietary habits.”

“I know you, beer and steak. That’s your thing. Very… Canadian.”

“That’s kind of harsh, Shepard.”

She leaned over, turning his head to the side. Her hand rested against his freshly shaven jaw and tipped his head down. She placed her lips on hers and parted her lips. In addition, she climbed onto his lap. His hands slid against the soft curves of her waist and the smooth fabric of her dress. The closer she was to him, the more he wanted to just blurt out that he loved her. He knew he did. Because no matter how many nights they spent together, being close to her and being able to touch her set a fire inside him. His skin would flush with color and excitement, and his heart would start racing. He’d forget how to breathe at times, and the thought of being the one to love and take care of her for the rest of their lives made him happier than anything in the world.

Whispering “I love you” against her lips was something he doubted he could hold back.

The SkyCar came to a halt and the door popped open. Shepard climbed off him and pulled him out of the car. The restaurant they were at was overlooking the Presidium, beautiful, with elegant glass walls on all four sides. Tables were lined completely symmetrically and set to perfection. Kaidan slid his arm around her waist and brought her closer to the podium. He gave their name, and a waiter lead them to their table. It was right against the windows, offering a beautiful view onto the Citadel. She blushed as she sat down, and he knew he’d done a good job.

“Kaidan, this is beautiful.”

He smiled. “I wanted to get this right.”

“I think you did.”

She reached across the table and took his hand, gently brushing her thumb across the back of his palm. He couldn’t draw his eyes away from the subtle touch against his skin. Even in their most intense moments, where her nails dug into his shoulders, leaving marks that required medi-gel the next morning, or when she moaned his name against his bare skin and fell completely weak to him in his arms, it was the smallest things that made him completely unwind.

“Shepard,” he said. “I’m glad we got to take the time out to do this.”

“Me too,” she started. “I care about you a lot, and you know that, right?”

He nodded. “Yeah, I do.”

“Good. Now, how about a bottle of wine for the table, handsome?”

He cracked a smile. “Alright, sweetheart. You pick.”

Shepard opened the wine list in front of them, and as the waiter approached to take their order, he couldn’t keep his eyes off of her. Since she slept way later than he did, he had plenty of time to analyze her body while she was fast asleep, but seeing her just being herself, awake and unbelievably beautiful made something inside him physically ache. She ordered a cabernet first, but then quickly changed her mind to a merlot, and sided on a malbec, and shoved the menu at the waiter, turning back to him.

Her green eyes danced over him as he eyed the menu, already zeroing in on the biggest steak they had on the menu. He glanced up at her, catching her staring.

“What are you doing? Shouldn’t you be looking at the menu?”

She nodded. “Yeah, but… looking at you is pretty nice too.”

“You know what I thought the first time I met you?”

She quirked a smile. “What’s that? Because if I recall correctly, you looked like you were about to shit your pants.”

He laughed under his breath. “Yeah, I was horrified. You were so strong and so brave, and I… I was just me. Just a simple guy who wanted to help, some suppressed sob story that was nothing more than a memory in my book. But then I met you, and I started questioning everything, and it was the first time I didn’t know if I could obey the rules. I wanted you so badly.”

“And now I’m all yours. What now?”

The waiter brought their glasses of wine, and took their orders. Surprising no one, Kaidan ordered the biggest steak on the menu, and Shepard kicked him under the table for it. She ordered a pasta dish with extra cheese on the top. Their menus left with the waiter and they stretched their hands out to hold one another’s.

“You never answered my question,” she said. “What now?”

He smiled. “A thousand more nights like this.”

***

“I am not throwing a coin in the Presidium lake, Kaidan! They’re going to come after us and regret letting me save this whole damn station.”

Kaidan stood behind her, his hands on her waist, head resting against her shoulder. “Come on. Make a wish.”

She shook her head. “No. That’s ridiculous. You’re an idiot.”

“I’m sappy, not an idiot. There’s a huge difference, Shepard.”

“Mr. I Don’t Want To Break Regs by Screwing my CO, you’re now ordering me to throw coins into the lake when there is a sign that explicitly says there’s a fine for doing so.”

He rolled his eyes. “I saw Krogan trying to fish the koi out the other day, so I think we’re good.”

“You first,” she said, passing the coin to him. Kaidan stepped away from her, shut his eyes and tossed the coin into the pond. He quickly looked around to see if any security drones were checking them out, but they seemed to be in the clear. Shepard slid her arms around his body and rested her head against his chest. She grabbed the fabric of his shirt and kissed the side of his neck.

“What’d you wish for?”

“I can’t tell you,” he replied. “Otherwise it won’t come true.”

“That’s bullshit. Come on.”

He shook his head. “I don’t even want to risk it.”

He wrapped his arms around her waist again and pulled her against his chest. She cupped his face with her hands and stroked his cheekbones with her thumbs. “Someone is still Mr. Rules and Regulations, I see.”

“Some desires are just not worst risking, Shepard.”

“Fine. Then don’t tell me what you wished for,” she teased, placing a kiss on the tip of his nose. It made her stretch on her toes to reach him, but he would never complain or resist helping her to his height.

 _A thousand more nights like this,_ he thought.  _That’s what I wished for_.

A soft rumble came from the distance. Kaidan glanced up, seeing the skies darken. It didn’t normally rain on the Citadel, but sometimes, they’d send through a simulated storm to water plants and to give the illusion of not being on a space station. It was recent, just in the past ten years, he’d heard. And because of that, they often didn’t realize that it was raining too hard.

“Ah, shit,” Shepard groaned.

The storm swept over them, quickly drenching the both of them. Kaidan felt the hair gel drip down his neck and onto his shirt, and he saw Shepard’s makeup begin to run, but instead of rushing to cover, he pulled her closer and kissed her, hard. The water kept causing his lips to slide off hers, but it allowed an excuse for him to kiss her once again. Shepard groped at the soaked fabric of his shirt, reaching higher to wrap her arms around his neck. Her wet skin against his felt so soft and smooth, but also slippery, so he held her to make her job easier. She pulled away, but he reeled her in for another, biting down on her lower lip gently. Rain drops fell into their slightly agape mouths, but all he could taste was her and how he wanted so much more of it.

“Kaidan, we’re drenched.”

“We should head back to the Normandy,” he said.

She groaned. “Screw the Normandy. I need a change of setting. How about you?”

He narrowed his eyes. “What are you saying?”

“Come with me,” she ordered, taking him by the wrist.

She ushered him into cover, and pulled him in the direction of one of the elegant hotels on the Citadel. Lux. It was a sleek, white and chrome high rise, where every room had a giant window to overlook the rest of the Citadel. Shepard yanked him into the lobby, and to the concierge desk. She ordered them one room and put it on her name. The concierge worker clearly recognized her, because almost immediately, he bumped them to a larger suite on a higher floor. Shepard took the key and brought Kaidan to the elevator. Her hair was damp and dripping all over the floor, and her makeup had sunk down her cheeks, but she looked so gorgeous, and part of him was so glad they wouldn’t be returning to the Normandy, they wouldn’t have to acknowledge their ranks or jobs for the entire night.

Shepard opened the door and lead him inside. The room was mostly white and chrome as well, with soft white carpets they were dripping all over, a giant expansive window and a massive black and white queen bed that overlooked the view. Kaidan stepped closer to the window and looked out onto the Citadel.

“God. It all looks so small from up here.”

“Yeah,” she replied, holding him from behind. “Up here it’s just us. Just you and me.”

It reminded him of what he’d said to her the night they first slept together, how it was just the two of them that mattered in the moment and this felt quite the same way. He reached behind him and grabbed her, feeling her rest her lips against the back of his shoulder.

“Thanks for tonight,” she whispered. “It was really great.”

He faintly smiled. “It doesn’t have to be over just yet.”

“Good.”

He turned around, taking her in his arms. “Shepard, we’ve uh… we’ve got to talk about something though.”

She nodded. “Yeah, of course. Everything okay?”

“Yeah, it’s fine. It’s just… I don’t get into relationships very often, and I’m quite frankly, sort of terrible with it, but that’s just because I don’t find people I care about this deeply very often. I don’t take relationships and sex lightly, and I think you could figure that one out. But I… I just want to know that what we have is real, and that it’s not just sleeping together and half-being together and half-avoiding labels. It… ugh. It makes me nervous.”

Her gaze softened and she pressed a hand to his face. “Oh god, oh no. I didn’t… I didn’t mean for that. And if I’m being honest, I suck just as badly, if not worse at telling people how I feel. I just live with this looming threat over my shoulder, like any day could be my last. I’ve survived enough near-death experiences to know that attachments hurt. But…”

“But?” he inquired, tilting her face up to his.

“But I don’t want things to be like that with you, Kaidan. I want to stop running away from it. I just - I don’t want to hurt you.”

He sighed. “I understand. And I couldn’t hurt you either. But whatever the Reapers have in store for us, whatever is coming next, I want to be at your side for it, and I would rather spend any time we do have with you, because I love you.”

Her expression froze, and she stepped closer. “You love me?”

He nodded, biting down on his lip. “Yeah.”

“And I love you too,” she said.

“See? Wasn’t so hard, was it?” he teased, caressing the side of her face.

“No, it feels good.”

“Come here,” he said, pressing his lips against hers. She reached her hands to his collar and began to unbutton his shirt. She eased the damp fabric off of his body and threw it to the side, her damp, chilled fingers running down his chest. He was still soaked, fresh droplets of water all over his body. He reached lower, wrapping his hands around her thighs and carrying her over to the bed. She kept her lips connected to his the entire time.

Kaidan gently placed her on the bed, easing her against the bright white fabric, one hand behind her head to make sure she was secure and comfortable. He climbed onto the bed as well, one knee on either side of her body. He reached down to her thighs where her her dress ended. He tightened his fingers around the soft fabric and pulled it up her body. She wiggled out of it, trying to unstick herself from the sopping wet material. Underneath, she wore a pair of tight fitting black underwear and a strapless bra. His hands traced back down her body, gently, with a subtle twinge of biotics to his touch. She arched her back and grabbed the loop of his belt to pull him closer. His lips trailed down her stomach after his hands, and he felt her wrap her legs around his.

He slid his hands to the inside of her underwear, slowly toying the waistband down her legs. He threw them aside and allowed her to unhook the belt of his pants, throwing that to the ground with an insignificant thud. She unbuttoned his pants and worked them down his legs as well. She pressed her chest against his, allowing him to slide one hand back to unhook her bra. Tossing it to the side, his hands traced each inch of her body, softly swooping his thumbs along the curves of her breasts and down the hollows of her hip bones to between her legs.

Shepard murmured his name and grabbed hard at his damp hair. He felt her nod and pull him closer. She pushed his boxers down with her other hand, and with his help. He gently pressed kisses to the side of her neck, even the places where it tickled her most. She giggled and squirmed, but her laugh shook the entire room, so happy and free. She was hardly the same woman that barked out orders or screamed at the council or called Ambassador Udina a jackass on a regular day.

They came together, a mess of legs and arms and passion and emotion. He took in the way her back arched and she grabbed the skin at the back of his neck, letting out a soft whimper, and how she breathed extra heavily, and the way she knew exactly where he was going to kiss next, accommodating her body to him. She’d move her head to the side to clear more space along the side of her neck, or press her chest up as he kissed lower. They’d learned each other well, each and every part, every last point that drove the other wild.

He slid his fingers to the back of her knee, pulling it up and around his own body and hearing her moan his name and hold him tighter. Except now, it was accompanied with something else.

“I love you,” she whispered. “God, I love you so much.”

He placed a single, soft kiss against her lips. “I love you too. More than you could ever imagine.”

She nodded, breathing still heavy. “And please don’t stop.”

“I never, ever will. I promise you that.”

And it was all that mattered. He felt her body pressed against his, her heart racing as intense waves of pleasure took her over, and he could feel the same in himself. But he couldn’t bring himself to care much for anything physical. Right now, what mattered most was that the whole time, every several seconds, her lips murmured the words he’d debated saying himself hundreds of times, but didn’t say until now.

“I love you,” she breathed again, pulling herself to his chest after. She placed soft kisses against his body. “But you still never told me what it was you wished for.”

He softly smiled, his eyes closed, but knowing what her face would look like. Tired, hair a mess, her bright green eyes intense as ever. “I wished for a thousand more nights like this. And then some.”

She smiled and pressed a kiss to his forehead. “I like that wish. I hope it comes true."


End file.
